Chapter 55: The Divine Assistant Assessment
Listening to Zhang Pianpian’s explanation, Zhang Yu asked another question.
“Why is it that if I take the assessment, Zhen will be safe too?”
Zhang Pianpian rested her chin on one hand and said coolly, “I can act as your sponsor and recommend you for the Divine Assistant personnel assessment.”
“Once you become a Divine Assistant, you can take on an intern of your own.”
Zhang Yu got it. So a temp worker outsources to an intern, huh.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “After you become an auxiliary member of the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods, I’ll take you to Songyang High School to have a talk with the student council and back you up.”
“For the next six months or so, as long as I’m still in Songyang City and haven’t left for university, they probably won’t give you two any trouble.”
Talk to them at Songyang High School? Back us up? What’s your status? What are your scores? How much money do you have? Can you really pull that off?
As if sensing Zhang Yu’s doubts and worries, Zhang Pianpian didn’t elaborate, only stating calmly, “I am the current number one third-year at White Dragon High School, and I am also the strongest high school student in Songyang City.”
The strongest high school student in Songyang City!
If the Zhang Yu from his past life had heard these words, he would have just thought, Oh, not bad, pretty impressive.
But now, hearing Zhang Pianpian’s statement, he felt as though his sister was radiating a blinding light.
Anyone who had gone to high school in Songyang City knew the weight those words carried.
That title was an honor earned only after enduring countless rounds of soul-crushing, self-destructive cultivation, shedding buckets of blood and tears, and trampling over the corpses of innumerable high school students.
And so, Zhang Yu asked, “So, what does this Divine Assistant job actually entail?”
“Work?” Zhang Pianpian tilted her head. “You don’t actually have to do any work. With this status, you just collect a paycheck on time every month.”
Zhang Yu understood at once. Isn’t this a damn no-show job? Has such a good thing finally happened to me?
Zhang Yu quickly asked another question, “So what’s on the assessment?”
Zhang Pianpian shook her head. “The specific content of the assessment is randomly generated, so I don’t know either.”
“But based on my understanding of the Divine Assistant, the higher your Dao heart and the stronger your willpower, the better.”
“Dao heart and willpower?” Zhang Yu mused, nodding slightly. “Is the assessment held in the Spirit Realm?”
“Correct.” Zhang Pianpian stood up, saying as she walked toward the exit, “The assessment is held in the Spirit Realm.”
“I’ll send you the address for the assessment registration in a moment.”
“If you register today, you should be able to take the assessment tomorrow.”
“Remember to ask for a day off from school tomorrow.”
“Also, I’ll have someone send over a spiritual interface mask for you to borrow for the exam.”
With that, Zhang Pianpian had reached the doorway.
“Finally, remember not to reveal our sibling relationship to anyone. If someone asks, just say that I admire your talent.”
Watching Zhang Pianpian’s departing figure, Zhang Yu thought for a moment before sending a message to Su Haifeng to ask for a day off.
Then, without waiting to see if it was approved, he put his phone down for the time being and began to consider what preparations he should make next.
Dao heart? Willpower? And the test is in the Spirit Realm?
Zhang Yu decided to trust what Zhang Pianpian had said, his mind turning to follow her guidance.
To improve my Dao heart and willpower, the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art is definitely the most effective.
I’ll push myself to advance this cultivation technique tonight.
However, considering the importance of this matter and its bearing on his and Bai Zhenzhen’s future, Zhang Yu planned to up the ante and go all out, pushing the cultivation technique even harder tonight.
He picked up his phone and contacted Wang Hai.
“Teacher Wang, I’d like to buy some drugs.”
Wang Hai was overjoyed to hear this, nearly bursting into laughter.
Finally! The body tempering genius, the Golden Core disciple of my class, is finally willing to buy drugs from him!
At this moment, Wang Hai felt a deep sense of relief, as if he were seeing a failing student who had lost his way finally return to the proper path.
He thought for a moment and said, “What kind of drug do you need?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Something that will let me train all night without rest.”
“The side effects and damage to my body need to be as minimal as possible.”
“The quality has to be good; a higher price doesn’t matter.”
“I only need enough for one night, so the dose doesn’t have to be large.”
Zhang Yu thought that although his body’s previous owner had overdosed, he had been recuperating for so long and his physical strength had greatly improved. Taking a single dose to go all out for tomorrow’s assessment shouldn’t be a major issue.
On the other end, as a prime purveyor of alchemical enhancers who both used and sold his own supply, Wang Hai knew his products inside and out.
Although he was a little disappointed to hear Zhang Yu only needed enough for one night, it made him all the more eager to show Zhang Yu the benefits of using them, hoping he would become a repeat customer.
“Wait a moment…”
Wang Hai immediately wracked his brain, and considering Zhang Yu’s physical strength, he ultimately drew up a list that included painkillers, a focus enhancer, stimulants, and a stamina injection.
He sent the list to Zhang Yu and added, “This is all top-shelf stuff, with the minimal side effects you asked for. If you want it, I’ll give you a ten percent discount.”
Looking at the list, which totaled five thousand eight hundred yuan, Zhang Yu sighed internally.
Good alchemical enhancers really aren’t cheap. It’s a good thing I only need them for one night.
After his recent expenses on food, transportation, and extended time with the Heavenly Spiritual Root, plus the new month’s fifteen-thousand-yuan loan payment, fifteen hundred in rent, and a few hundred for utilities, Zhang Yu’s savings had dropped to just over forty-five thousand.
Now, with another 5,800 deducted, he would only have a little over thirty-nine thousand left.
Sigh, I’m so poor.
Zhang Yu transferred the money to Wang Hai and waited for the delivery.
With Songyang City’s delivery efficiency, he would probably receive the package within the hour.
Just then, he received a message from Zhang Pianpian. She had sent him the URL for the assessment application.
“Songyang City Inspection Department, Divine Assistant Recruitment Registration…”
The Inspection Department was one of the Eight Great Divine Ministries.
Zhang Yu saw that the site also listed the recruitment requirements, job description, and compensation.
He met all of the recruitment requirements.
The job description mentioned things like patrolling, inspections, and maintaining public order—all rather vague. Zhang Yu had no idea what it actually entailed.
And the compensation…
“Required weekly work hours: 18. Salary: 1,000 yuan per month?”
An hourly wage of less than fourteen yuan.
A job like this requires an assessment? Zhang Yu was thankful he was the one getting a no-show job.
However, from his understanding of Kunxu, the prestige of a job could be judged entirely by its hourly wage.
A position that paid less than fourteen yuan an hour… could that truly shield him from the student council? The wage itself reeked of poverty and insignificance.
Fearing that Zhang Pianpian had sent him the wrong link, he couldn’t help but send her a message voicing his concerns.
Zhang Pianpian’s only reply was, “No matter how low the status, it still falls under the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods. Besides, the usefulness of a position depends on the person using it.”
“The monthly pay is a little low, but some hidden benefits aren’t mentioned in the recruitment notice.”
“For example, you can get a work-issued Talisman Tome for free after joining.”
“And after becoming a Divine Assistant, you can get a discount if you study talismans.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up at her words, a thoughtful look on his face. With these additional benefits, the job was indeed quite extraordinary.
He submitted his application on the website, writing Zhang Pianpian’s name in the sponsor field.
A moment later, Zhang Yu received a notification to attend the assessment at 9:00 AM the next morning.
After finishing all of this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
The channels, the jobs, the statuses, the information… everything Zhang Pianpian had told him today was something he had been completely oblivious to in the past.
It reminded him of the original Zhang Yu’s memories—attending the high school interview almost completely ignorant, only to discover a vast chasm between himself and the city’s students, not just in wealth, talent, and ability, but also in information and intelligence. He hadn’t even known what he should be striving for.
Gathering his thoughts, Zhang Yu began to wait for the delivery, meditating and cultivating the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra.
Since the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art required him to practice its forms while circulating the heart art, he primarily cultivated the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra when he was in his rented room.
In the blink of an eye, more than forty minutes passed. The spiritual interface mask sent by Zhang Pianpian’s people and the alchemical enhancers packaged by Wang Hai arrived one after the other.
Zhang Yu grabbed the bag of drugs and was about to head to the abandoned building to train.
But then he considered the value of the spiritual interface mask and decided to bring it with him.
He arrived at the abandoned building.
Zhang Yu took the painkillers, focus enhancer, and stimulants that Wang Hai had prepared for him one by one, then injected a syringe of the stamina solution into his arm.
A moment later, Zhang Yu felt his entire body grow hot, the vital energy and blood within him erupting like flowing magma. He felt as if his stamina was now endless, that he possessed an inexhaustible strength.
Boom!
With a punch, he began to furiously practice the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
It originally took him fourteen minutes to complete one set of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, but now, pushed by the drugs, Zhang Yu’s hands and feet became a blur of afterimages. He finished all nine sets of martial arts in just six minutes.
Moreover, throughout the process, he felt no soreness in his muscles, nor was he even slightly out of breath.
During his cultivation, Zhang Yu had only one thought.
This is insane! Wang Hai’s drugs are absolutely insane! This 5,800 yuan was well spent!
Teacher Wang! Taking drugs really is better than training naturally!
For one hour, Zhang Yu trained frantically.
After two hours, Zhang Yu was still training.
After five hours, Zhang Yu still hadn’t stopped.
He trained with vigor and vitality all night without any rest, until 7:00 AM, when he was suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion and could no longer continue.
He collapsed onto the ground, his heart pounding as if it would leap from his chest. A dull pain pulsed through his internal organs, only gradually subsiding after more than ten minutes.
“The effects have worn off.”
Recalling the pain that had just coursed through him, Zhang Yu thought to himself, That kick was too strong. My organs haven’t fully healed; I definitely can’t take these drugs often.
However, the results of such a frenzied night of cultivation were substantial.
Not only had his physical strength increased from 1.33 to 1.35 and his Dao heart risen to level 3 (5%), but most crucially, his Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art had advanced to level 6 (3/60).
Now, when Zhang Yu circulated the Heavenly Martial Will, he felt all fear and hesitation vanish. No matter how perilous the path ahead, he would forge through to the very end, tearing a way forward with his own two hands.
He ate breakfast, returned to his rented room, and rested until 8:50 AM.
Zhang Yu put on the spiritual interface mask, activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, and then connected to the assessment website.
When the time reached 9:00 AM, Zhang Yu perceived a flash of light in the darkness, and then he found himself in another world.